Column: Dallas' win streak is a product of a familiar trait

The new number is five. The Dallas Mavericks are winners of five straight games following a 129-114 thrashing of the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. Dallas recorded a season-high 25 fast break points, and Luka Doncic, who scored 35 points in 34 minutes, found players like Dwight Powell and Davis Bertans on countless full-court outlet […]

Ian Kayanja

Dec 30, 2022 11:15 AM EST

The new number is five.

The Dallas Mavericks are winners of five straight games following a 129-114 thrashing of the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. Dallas recorded a season-high 25 fast break points, and Luka Doncic, who scored 35 points in 34 minutes, found players like Dwight Powell and Davis Bertans on countless full-court outlet passes. And for the first time all season, Dallas looked like a team eager to run the floor, with numerous opportunities built out of defensive stops.

"We didn't talk about the full-court pass [before the game] but I did ask a couple of players to step up and not wait for Luka," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "They responded by being able to get out, run and get easy baskets so we don't have to struggle in the half-court."

Luka Doncic quarterbacking the offense yet again pic.twitter.com/zPgB8Gj99w
— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) December 30, 2022

Dallas hasn't been a great fastbreak team all season. Through this point in the season, the Mavericks rank 30th in fastbreak points at 10.4 a game.

Part of the fast-breaking issue is that Dallas hasn't been a great defensive team.

They rank 14th in the NBA in defensive rating through the first 36 games. One reason for that is key defensive players have missed extensive time — Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith. But part of it also is because the defensive energy and wherewithal were lacking in comparison to last season.

After Thursday's win, Powell noted the energy on that end of the floor is changing. And that is the primary driver in Dallas' current win streak.

“Defense has been a focus of ours from the beginning," he said. "Figuring out the best ways to execute our scheme, guys getting comfortable in their roles within our scheme, figuring out ways to better execute our game plan.

"It’s been a learning process for us, and we’ve been growing in that and I think we’re going to continue to grow in that. That’s always been our focus and will continue to be our focus on the defensive end.”

Leading the defensive charge is Christian Wood, the often maligned big man who many proclaimed wasn't starting because of his defensive lapses.

In the last four games, Wood is averaging three blocks a contest. With Kleber out for the known future, Wood has taken it upon himself to become Dallas' versatile defensive anchor.

And against Houston on Thursday, he racked up four blocks in 21 minutes of game action.

He's mastered the art of weak-side timing. And he believes that has made a difference with his improvements as a rim protector.

"[I am] Just making an emphasis and trying to be that help-side guy, especially, trying to protect the rim," Wood said. "These guys are just trusting me to challenge shots. That's what we've been working on in practice me being in that moment."

His effort on the dirty end of the floor has drawn the attention of Powell and others on the team, who know how critical his play has been during Dallas' current win streak.

“His rim protection is huge for us," Powell said. "He’s doing a great job being the low man and being in position early."

Around this time last season Dallas turned its defense around and subsequently its season. Now, the Mavericks are trying to do it again — even though the names leading the defensive charge look a bit different.

"Last year, once everybody understood what we are trying to do, we started to go in the right direction and our defense helped us win games," Kidd said. "Hopefully, that is the same case here."